Mapping Neuroscience to Application
Margie Meacham
learningtogo.info
#LSCon
Statement
Brains work like super-computers.
Listening to Mozart can make you smarter.
Most people only use about 10% of their brains.
The more wrinkles you have in your brain, the smarter
you are.
You can learn while you sleep by playing an audio book.
Man has the largest brain of any animal.
Intelligence is an inherited trait.
Left-brained people are analytical and right-brained
people are creative.
Learners are divided equally between visual, auditory
and kinesthetic learning styles.
True or
False
Statement
True or
False
Brains work like super-computers.
F
Listening to Mozart can make you smarter.
F
Most people only use about 10% of their brains.
F
The more wrinkles you have in your brain, the smarter
you are.
F
You can learn while you sleep by playing an audio book.
F
Man has the largest brain of any animal.
F
Intelligence is an inherited trait.
F
Left-brained people are analytical and right-brained
people are creative.
F
Learners are divided equally between visual, auditory
and kinesthetic learning styles.
F
Your brain is constantly rewiring itself, based on internal and
external stimuli.
Your brain is the result of evolution intended to help you
survive (at least long enough to pass along your genes.)
We are hard-wired to notice change, especially changes to:
• movement
• similarities
• contrast
• expected rewards
• strong emotions
Pretty
Chem
Class
Smells
nice
Working Memory
(Temporary)
Irrelevant
Your brain filters out what seems irrelevant and parks
the rest in working memory for further processing.
Working memory has limitations:
• 1-5 images (depending on their complexity)
• 5-9 digits
• 5-7 letters
• 4-6 words
Jane
Chem
Class
College
Nice
Smells
New information is cross-referenced with existing
information. Another purge discards information that
doesn’t seem relevant or is not related to anything
already stored.
Long-term memory is formed by linking multiple cells
together.
Endorphins are released at the end of the process to
reward the brain for learning. Learning is addictive –
and that’s a good thing!
Connections that are
revisited frequently
become stronger.
Connections that are
left alone are
eventually destroyed
to make room for
more current
information.
Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of
new neurons. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876761/
Source: Howstuffworks.com
Subject A is performing the task; subject B is merely
observing, but the brain responds in very similar ways,
as though B were also performing the task.
How will neuroscience change the way
you work and live?
“Good science usually gives you as many
questions as answers.” – Kayt Sukel
How do you separate the hype from
meaningful content?
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What is the source?
What is their expertise?
Who funded the research?
What is their agenda?
What language is used?
Do they raise questions for further study?
Do they claim exclusivity?
Is there commerce involved?
Is there mention of a conspiracy?
Has the result been replicated in other research?
What is your personal “hypometer” telling you?
Modified from 10 Questions To Distinguish Real From
Fake Science, Emily Willingham, Forbes
Available at: learningtogo.info
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What needs to change?
How will we accomplish the change?
What results do we expect?
What is the risk of NOT implementing brain-based
techniques?
Access template at:
www.learningtogo.info
•
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Attention?
Emotions?
Repetition?
Spacing?
Encoding?
Cues?
Access template at:
www.learningtogo.info
•
•
•
•
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Graphic Organizers
Role-play and observation
Music
Video
Flash Cards
Alerts
Scavenger hunt
Learning to Learn
Emotional Connection
Access template at:
www.learningtogo.info
Before fMRIs, psychologist tried to
deduce what was happening by using
tools such as:
• Surveys
• Self-reporting
• Statistics
Now, it is possible to observe the
subject in the act of learning.
So let’s do that too!
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•
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What post-training behavior do you
observe?
What questions do the learners ask?
Where do learners go for more
information?
What did learners find most
significant?
How does the new content relate to
previous learning?
How quickly/accurately can
information be retrieved and applied?
What one thing can you change
tomorrow (or soon)?
Your brain can play tricks on you!
Be careful what you tell it!
(My website is actually www.learningtogo.info)

ATD Science of Learning blog: http://tinyurl.com/o53qlym
The Power of Believing (TED Talk), Carol Dweck:
http://tinyurl.com/o9h5r4g
A Light Switch for Neurons (TED Talk). Ed Boyden:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ed_boyden
The Future of the Brain: Essays by the World's Leading
Neuroscientists, by Gary Marcus (Editor), Jeremy Freeman (Editor).
http://tinyurl.com/kgfn2ph
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, by David Eagleman.
http://tinyurl.com/px5uv4n
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human
Intelligence, by Carl Sagan. http://tinyurl.com/qfar3w5
Brain Matters: How to help anyone learn anything using
neuroscience, by Margie Meacham. http://tinyurl.com/nof8heh
Margie Meacham
Chief Freedom
Officer (CFO)
Learningtogo.info
1+623-512-6034
Twitter:
@margiemeacham
#LSCon